What are appreciation letters?

Appreciation letters are professional communications that express gratitude for the excellent work an individual or team has performed. Sometimes referred to as thank you or recognition letters, they encourage positive collaboration and continued dedication within organizations. Managers and executives often write appreciation letters to their employees since they’re in oversight positions and responsible for providing feedback. Still, any professional who wants to thank a colleague can send one.

What’s the importance of appreciation letters?

Appreciation letters are important because they can contribute to more productive organizations with greater employee satisfaction. Unlike forms of recognition that take a while to implement, such as raises or promotions, you can send appreciation letters quickly and easily. In addition, they can help employers acknowledge workplace practices they want to see replicated and make employees feel supported.

In companies where expressing appreciation is common, employees have a clear motivation to do their best since they can expect recognition when they perform well. Employees also understand that their management and colleagues pay close attention to their individual contributions, encouraging them to put forth quality efforts. It also encourages a positive work environment which can help increase employee retention rate.

Steps for writing an appreciation letter

Here are the steps you can follow when preparing to send an appreciation letter to someone in your organization:

1. Determine your letter’s format

Before you write, determine which letter format is most appropriate for your purpose. Several factors may influence your decision, including your relationship to the recipient, your reason for writing, your personal communication style, and the resources available to you. For example, when a colleague or employee does you a favour or helps you with a minor task, you might send a casual email thanking them. At the end of a major project, if an employee did incredible work that ensured its success, you might send them a lengthier letter written on stationery.

Typically, hand-written and hard-copy letters serve as an extra gesture of gratitude in important situations. Emails work well for more routine situations where saying thank you would be polite. In some cases, sending a physical letter might be impractical, or you may not have immediate access to the necessary resources for printing and mailing one, making email your best option.

2. State your reason for writing

Open your letter by directly stating that you’re writing to say thank you. For emails, you can write “Thank You” in the subject line. By introducing your topic right away, you ensure the recipient knows the communication is positive and can enjoy reading your message. You also provide context that, for longer letters, allows you to structure your letter creatively, perhaps by including a brief story or humorous details.

3. Identify their unique achievements

Appreciation letters recognize unique instances of achievement, so your letter needs to specify exactly how your employee or colleague exceeded expectations. In your next paragraph, include details about how the individual’s approach showed thoughtfulness and acknowledge the results it produced. You can use this section to explain how the employee’s success enhances the organization’s potential and emphasize your hopes that they continue to do similarly excellent work.

By being specific about what the employee did that impressed you, you help them build upon their achievement in the future. They can proceed in their roles with a firm understanding of what the organization appreciates about their work ethic and apply it to their roles more broadly.

4. Close by restating your appreciation

Your last paragraph needs to succinctly restate your appreciation for the recipient’s work. You can also include a call to action, a statement of what you’d like to see from the employee as they continue working in your organization. For instance, you might write that you hope to see them enjoy continued success with the company or that you’d like them to repeat their achievements on the next project.

5. Sign off appropriately

You can sign off with a formal closing such as “Sincerely,” “Yours,” or “Respectfully” or a more informal one such as “Cheers,” depending on the tone and content in the rest of your letter. In formal appreciation letters, consider including your job title and the company name after your signature. This is especially important when thanking an employee in another department or location, you may not have worked with before or met.

Tips for writing an appreciation letter

Here are several tips to help you draft a successful appreciation letter:

Use appreciation letters flexibly

You can incorporate appreciation letters into your management approach by using them on various occasions. For example, beyond addressing work on a specific project, you can send them to thank employees for their efforts on birthdays, work anniversaries, last days with the company, and at the end of the year. When expressing appreciation becomes a core part of your company’s culture, you signal you value and respect people’s contributions and sharing credit for success is no problem. You also benefit from frequently reinforcing your team’s best habits, providing regular feedback that motivates them to continue developing.

Consider public praise

While some appreciation letters benefit from remaining private communications, others can inspire your entire team if shared with them. Especially if expressing appreciation to a group of employees, thanking them publicly can help other employees identify the best examples to follow. For instance, a manager might write a public appreciation letter to an employee celebrating five years with the company or send a public letter thanking the marketing team for a successful product launch.

Emphasize sincerity

You might follow an established format for your letters, but you can still incorporate your sincere admiration for your team members’ skills and commitment. Sincerity results from sharing genuine sentiments about your colleagues and using descriptive language that avoids overly general characterizations. It’s important to make sure each letter you send is original in its content so that recipients know you took the time to share your thoughts and consider your message.

Send your letters promptly

If you decide to send an appreciation letter, try to write and deliver it as soon as possible. Appreciation letters seem most genuine when you treat them as an important priority. Recipients can also better act on the praise they receive the sooner you recognize what they did well.

Templates for appreciation letters

When writing an employee appreciation letter, the format you use reflects your relationship with the recipient, your company’s culture, and the importance of the project. Here are some templates for appreciation letters that work in different situations:

Formal appreciation letter template

Dear [Recipient name],

I want to offer my sincerest thanks for [reason for your appreciation letter].

Your [discuss recipient’s qualities and contributions and how they affected results for your organization].

Allow me to thank you again for your excellent work and share my hopes for your continued success.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your job title]
[Your company’s name]

Milestone appreciation letter template

Dear [Recipient name],

I want to mark [state the milestone or occasion] by thanking you for your contributions to our organization.

Your [discuss recipient’s qualities and contributions to the organization, relating them to the milestone].

Thank you for being such a consistently committed member of the team. I look forward to celebrating even more successes with you.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Team appreciation letter template

Dear [Team or department],

I want to thank you all for [reason for your appreciation letter].

As a team, [specify accomplishments resulting from exceptional teamwork]. [Identify noteworthy individual contributions].

You all deserve an immense amount of gratitude for your efforts. Your colleagues and I are fortunate to work alongside such a talented group of professionals.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Casual appreciation letter template

Hi [Recipient name],

I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out with [reason for your appreciation letter].

Your [discuss recipient’s qualities and contributions and how they helped you accomplish your goals].

I value being able to rely on you and your commitment to the team whenever facing a challenge. Thank you for being such a dependable colleague.

Best,

[Your name]

Examples of appreciation letters

Here are several examples of employee appreciation letters that make use of the above templates:

Formal appreciation letter example

Dear James,

I want to offer my sincerest thanks for the incredible client dinner you organized and so successfully oversaw.

Your attention to detail and intuition for hospitality resulted in an event that impressed our newest and most established business partners alike. With so many moving parts to keep track of, you ensured we had ample time to make our pitch while also enjoying the company of the people our company depends on for success.

Allow me to thank you again for your excellent work and share my hopes for your continued success.

Sincerely,

Alice Reeves
Regional manager
Master Time Logistics

Milestone appreciation letter example

Dear Hannah,

I want to mark your third anniversary with the company by thanking you for the continued excellence you have brought to our company.

Your dedication to helping our team become an industry leader has been unwavering since day one. It has been a privilege to watch you go from joining the team as a recent college graduate to see you training our new hires and becoming a key contributor to our most challenging projects. Your ability to consistently exceed clients’ expectations with innovative solutions has certainly inspired your colleagues to do the same.

Thank you for being such a consistently committed member of the team. I look forward to celebrating even more successes with you.

Sincerely,

Mia Cooper

Team appreciation letter example

Dear HR Team,

I want to thank you all for the outstanding job you have done in preparing the training materials we can now use to welcome new hires and ensure they feel comfortable starting their roles.

As a team, you responded to a major challenge with incredible confidence and enthusiasm. I recognize that the deadline we set was challenging, but your collective sense of determination led to excellent results. I am certainly used to your department doing such excellent work, which is why I am so proud to see its newest member, Michael, bringing even more insight to an already incredible staff.

You all deserve an immense amount of gratitude for your efforts. Likewise, your colleagues and I owe much of our success to your department’s tireless contributions.

Sincerely,

Robert Tremaine

Casual appreciation letter example

Hi Charlotte,

I just wanted to say thanks for helping me figure out the reason behind the inconsistencies in the second quarter reports.

I know you were already quite busy, so I certainly appreciate you finding time to look at our work. The rest of the accounting team and I admire your problem-solving abilities and feel lucky to learn from your unique approach to some truly perplexing challenges.

I hope to return the favour sometime soon, so please let me know if there are any projects I can make easier for you. Thanks again for being such a generous and team-oriented colleague.

Best,

Mark

Appreciation Letter Templates for PDF & Word

Use these appreciation letter templates to provide effective positive reinforcement to your employees.

*Indeed provides these examples as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your HR or legal adviser, and none of these documents reflect current labor or employment regulations.